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A Mew 

Baptist 
Church Manual 



Rev. F. J. PARRy 




AMERICAN 

BAPTIST PUBLICATION 

SOCIETY 







63 



O 

CO 






A NEW 



BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 



V. 




\ -x_ ... 



*Let all things be done . . . in orders ' / Cor. 14 : 40 



;,3 




PHILADELPHIA 

AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY 
1420 Chestnut Street 

i 



t>H 






Copyright 1895 by the 
American Baptist Publication Society 



CONTENTS 



Explanatory, 5 

Church Covenant, 7 

Questions to Applicants for Church-Mem- 
bership, 10 

Declaration oe Faith, 11 

Condensed History oe the Baptists, . . 15 

Form of Church Government, 27 

Baptism, 30 

The Lord's Supper, or Communion, ... 38 

Church Discipline, 43 

General Baptist Benevolent Enterprises, 50 

Usages oe Baptists, 55 

Parliamentary Eules, 59 

Various Baptist Organizations, . . . .65 



NOTICE TO CHURCHES 



This Manual can be furnished to churches in 
"sheets," so that individual tastes may be followed 
in binding, and church directories bound there- 
with. 



EXPLANATORY 



Recent statistics show that there are about 
thirty-one thousand Baptist churches in the 
United States, with more than three million 
six hundred thousand communicants. These, 
however, do not form a Church under any 
enforced standard of doctrine or prescribed 
order of government, from which no congre- 
gation may vary. The aggregated sect is 
designated as the Baptist denomination and 
not the Baptist Church, because each sepa- 
rate congregation is held to be a complete 
New Testament church in itself. These thou- 
sands of Christians therefore, are entirely dis- 
tinct from each other, and are independent in 
the management of their internal affairs much 
after the pattern of private families in social 
life. While these separate churches are vol- 
untarily associated together that they may 
confer together about the scriptural application 
of their common principles, the subject of nriV 
sions, the best methods of church work, the 
establishment and support of educational in- 

5 



b EXPLANATORY 

terests and other fraternal purposes, yet the 
only element of visible unity between them is 
the Bible and the common faith and practice 
which they severally gather from its teachings. 

It is evident, therefore, that Baptists can 
have no formulated or authoritative creed to 
which all Baptists must subscribe. But, while 
each individual church is an absolute spiritual 
democracy, the denomination itself, in its prin- 
ciples, and the practices to which they neces- 
sarily lead, may be said to present an un- 
broken front to the world. Upon many of the 
great cardinal doctrines of Christianity, Bap- 
tists hold views in common with other evan- 
gelical bodies. But, while holding many be- 
liefs in common with others, there are certain 
distinguishing differences between Baptists and 
other bodies of Christians. 

The following pages have been prepared for 
the purpose of setting forth afresh the principles, 
practices, and peculiarities of Baptists, in the 
hope that this re-statement may be a conveni- 
ence to our church-membership, and an aid to 
those inquirers, who in their search for a 
church home desire to understand these things 
as they are believed by us. 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 



CHURCH COVENANT 

"And they entered into a covenant to seek the 
Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and 
with all their soul." 2 Chron, 15 : 12. 

Having been led, as we believe, by the 
Spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ 
as our Saviour, and on profession of our faith 
having been baptized in the name of the 
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, 
we do now, in the presence of God, angels, and 
this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully en- 
ter into covenant with one another, as one 
body in Christ. 

We promise by the aid of the Holy Spirit 
to forsake the paths of sin, and to walk in the 
ways of holiness all the days of our lives. 
With this view we engage to strive together 
for the advancement of this church in knowl- 
edge, holiness, and comfort; to promote its 

7 



8 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its wor- 
ship, ordinances, discipline and doctrines ; to 
contribute cheerfully and regularly to the sup- 
port of the ministry, the expenses of the 
church, the relief of the poor, and the spread 
of the gospel throughout all nations. 

We also engage to maintain family and 
secret devotion; to religiously educate our 
children ; to seek the salvation of our kindred 
and acquaintances ; to walk circumspectly in 
the world ; to be just in our dealings ; faithful 
in our engagements, and exemplary in our de- 
portment; to avoid all tattling, backbiting, 
and excessive anger; to abstain from the sale 
and use of intoxicating liquors as a beverage, 
and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the 
kingdom of our Saviour. 

We further engage to walk together in Chris- 
tian love and watchfulness, giving and receiv- 
ing admonition with meekness and affection ; 
to remember each other in prayer ; to aid each 
other in sickness and distress; to cultivate 
Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in 
speech ; to be slow to take offense, but always 
ready for reconciliation and mindful of the 
rules of our Saviour, to secure it without delay. 
We moreover engage that when we remove 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 9 

from this place, we will as soon as possible, 
unite with some other church, where we can 
carry out the spirit of this covenant, and the 
principles of God's word. 



QUESTIONS TO APPLICANTS FOR 
CHURCH-MEMBERSHIP 

1. Have you prayerfully and thoughtfully 
considered the question of uniting with this 
church ? 

2. Can you say that you believe you have 
met with a change of heart and that your sins 
have been taken away ; that you trust Christ 
and love him and all his ways ; and that you 
enjoy prayer,, the reading of the word, the 
worship of the sanctuary, and the society of 
Christians ? 

3. Have you carefully considered the doc- 
trines of this church and do you accept them 
as the teaching of God's word ? 

4. Do you cheerfully accept the obligations 
imposed by the church covenant ? 

5. Do you promise to strive at all times to 
live peaceably with your brethren and sisters, 
to be faithful to your duties, and to bear your 
share of the burdens and responsibilities that 
belong to the members of this church ? 



10 



DECLARATION OF FAITH 1 

1. The Old and New Testament Scriptures were 
written by men divinely inspired, and are the only 
sufficient and perfect rule of faith and practice. 2 
Tim. 3 : 16, 17; 2 Peter 1 : 21 ; Matt. 5 : 19 ; 24:35; 
Luke 24: 44; John 5: 39; 10:35; 14:15,21-26; 17: 
17 ; Isa. 8 : 20. 

2. There is one God, and only one, who is self- 
existent, eternal, and infinite in every excellence, 
and who has revealed himself as Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost, the same in essence, though distinct in 
personality. Isa. 45 : 21, 22 ; Jer. 10 : 10 ; Exod. 3 : 14 ; 
Deut. 6:4; 32 : 4 ; John 1 : 1-13 ; Horn. 9: 5 ; 1 Tim. 
3:16; Kev. 1:8; John 14 : 26 ; 15:26; Acts 5: 3, 4; 

1 Cor. 3 : 16 ; 12 : 11 ; Matt. 28 : 19. 

3. Man was created innocent. By disobedience of 
the command of God he fell, thereby losing his in- 
nocence, becoming subject to death and to the eternal 
displeasure of God. Gen. 1 : 27, 31 ; 2 : 16, 17 ; 3 : 1- 
6; Ps.9:17; 14:1-3; 51:5; Eccl. 7:29; Isa. 53:6; 
Jer. 17 : 9 ; Ezek. 18 : 19, 20; Matt. 25 : 46 ; Kom. 
1 : 18, 32 ; 2 : 1-16 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 22 ; Gal. 3 : 10; Eph. 

2 : 3 ; 1 John 1 : 8. 

4. Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Son of 
Man, came into the world to save men from the 



1 The Scripture references appended to each of the following 
declarations, are some of the passages upon which our belief 
is founded. 

11 



12 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

guilt and condemnation of sin, offering his blood as 
an atonement, and making it available to all who 
exercise faith in him. John 1 : 14, 29 : Luke 1 : 26- 
35 ; Acts 4 : 12 ; Rom. 3 : 20-28 ; John 3 : 14-16 ; Gal. 
6 : 14; Matt 26 : 28; Acts 16 : 31 ; John 6 : 53. 

5. The result of the heart acceptance of Jesus 
Christ is justification, whereby pardon is secured 
and we are brought into a state of peace and favor 
with God. Eph. 1:7; Rom. 4 : 4, 5 ; 5:1. 

6. The human means by which this result is se- 
cured is repentance and faith whereby we turn unto 
God in sincere contrition and accept Jesus Christ as 
an all-sufficient Saviour. Acts 2: 38; Eph. 2:8; 
Heb. 7 : 25. 

7. God has his purposes of grace in the salvation 
of men. These purposes are made effectual by the 
giving of his Son, and in the constraining and regen- 
erating influence of the Holy Ghost upon all who 
sincerely believe on Christ. But these purposes do 
not contravene the freedom of man's will, nor ren- 
der inoperative the proclamation of the gospel to 
all. Rom. 8 : 28-30; Eph. 1:4; Isa. 46 : 10; John 
3 : 6-8; 6 : 44; 1 : 12, 13; 1 Peter 1:2; James 1 : 18; 
John 16 : 7-11 ; Eph. 2 : 10; Phil. 2 : 12, 13 ; John 5 : 
40; Rom. 10: 13-16. 

8. Nothing can separate true believers from the 
love of God ; but they are " kept by the power of 
God, through faith, unto salvation/' the sure proof 
of this being their patient continuance and progress 
in righteousness and true holiness. Rom. 8 : 35-39 

1 Peter 1:5; John 10 : 27-29 ; 8 : 31 ; Col. 1 : 21-23 
Heb. 3 : 14; Matt 24 : 13; 1 John 2 : 19; 2 Cor. 3 
18; 2 Peter 1 : 3. 

9. The ordinances of the gospel are Baptism and 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 13 

the Lord's Supper. Baptism is the immersion in 
water of a believer in Christ, "in the name of the 
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost," and 
symbolizes the fact of regeneration. The Lord's 
Supper is a commemoration of his dying love, and 
symbolizes the fact that the believer is continuously 
fed and nourished by Christ; in its observance it 
is to be placed after baptism, according to its sym- 
bolic and historic order and as required by the teach- 
ing of the New Testament. Matt. 3: 6, 13-17; 28:19, 
20; Mark 1:5, 9-11; 16:16; John 3:5,23; Acts 8: 
36-38 ; Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12; Matt. 26 : 26-30 ; Mark 
14 : 22-25 ; Luke 22 : 19, 20 ; John 6 : 51-58, 63 ; Acts 
2: 41, 42; 1 Cor. 11: 23-29. 

10. The Church Spiritual includes the whole com- 
pany of believers of whatever name, age or country, 
and is known only to the eye of God. The Church 
Formal is a company of believers baptized in the 
name of the* Triune God, and observing the forms, 
ordinances, and principles laid down in the New 
Testament. Col. 1 : 18 ; Eph. 5 : 27 ; 2 : 19-21 ; 1 : 22, 
23; 1 Cor. 12 : 27, 28; 1:2; 11 : 2; Rom. 6 : 17; 2 
Tim. 1 : 13. 

11. The first day of the week is to be observed as 
the Lord's Day or Christian Sabbath. John 20: 19, 
26 ; Acts 20 : 7 ; 1 Cor. 16 : 1, 2. 

12. Civil government is of divine appointment 
for the interests and good order of human society; 
and magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously 
honored, and obeyed, except only in things op- 
posed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is 
the only Lord of the conscience, and the Prince of 
the kings of the earth. Rom. 13: 1-7; Matt. 22: 
21; Acts 5: 29; 4: 18-20. 



14 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

13. Jesus Christ is to come again, judge the na- 
tions and fill the earth with his glory and power. 
Matt. 24 : 25-51 ; John 14 : 3 ; Acts 1 : 11 ; 1 Thess. 
4 : 16, 17 ; 2 Thess. 2:3-8; Rev. 1:7; Rev. 20 : 1-6. 

14. There will be a resurrection of the just and 
the unjust; the just for blessedness and reward, the 
unjust for judgment and eternal doom. Dan. 12: 
2; John 5 : 28, 29; Acts 24 : 15; Luke 20 : 35-38; 1 
Cor. 15 : 22-24, 42-58; Matt. 25 : 31-46 ; 2 Cor. 5 :10 ; 
Rev. 20. 



CONDENSED HISTORY OF THE 
BAPTISTS 

The design of this article is to indicate 
briefly the connecting links of Baptist history. 1 

All our church historians tell us that there 
have existed, from the apostles to the present 
time, companies, congregations, and sects of 
Christians more or less dissenting from estab- 
lished and generally accepted forms. As soon 
as the prevailing churches fell into errors, be- 
came proud, corrupt, and worldly, departing 
from the simplicity and spirituality of the 
gospel, then such as continued godly separated 
themselves from the multitude, worshiped by 
themselves, and served God according to the 
dictates of their own consciences. * They main- 
tained the doctrines and ordinances of Christ 
as they understood him to have delivered 
them to his disciples, and sought to be his true 

1 For further information, besides the general 
Church Histories of Neander, Mosheim, Hase, and 
others, the reader is referred to Cramp' s ' ' Baptist His- 
tory," Yedder's " Short History of the Baptists," and 
" A History of the Baptists," by Thomas Armitage, 

D. D. 

15 



16 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

and faithful witnesses in the midst of the pre- 
vailing degeneracy. These sects have been 
called by various names, and have differed 
somewhat among themselves, but they have in- 
variably been called " heretics " by the pre- 
vailing churches from which they were sepa- 
rated. The grandest heroes and martyrs for 
truth that the world has known are to be 
found among these despised and persecuted 
sects. The reproaches and persecutions which 
they suffered were all because they sought to 
maintain the gospel and protested against the 
errors and crimes that were practised in the 
name of religion. 

Of these sects, there were in the first two 
centuries, the Euchites and Montanists. From 
the third to the tenth centuries, there were the 
Novatians, Donatists, and Paulicians. All 
these professed to hold to the New Testament 
as the only rule of faith and practice, received 
none but regenerated persons into church- 
membership, rejected infant baptism, and prac- 
tised immersion. In the eleventh and follow- 
ing centuries, up to the time of the Keforma- 
tion, these sects took on new names, being 
called Waldenses, Albigenses, Vaudois, Poor 
Men of Lyons, or Cathari, and other names, 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 17 

and became very numerous notwithstanding 
their continued sufferings from persecution. 
All these ancient sects, though not known by 
the name of Baptists, held to a greater or less 
extent the prevailing opinions which now 
characterize the Baptist denomination. Some 
of our historians, however, are inclined to 
distinguish in them a greater resemblance to 
modern Baptists than are others. 

1. Anabaptists. Daring the period of the 
Reformation (1520-1555), there sprang up all 
over Central and Western Europe in great 
numbers those who were called Anabaptists, 
that is, those who rebaptized, because they re- 
jected both -the baptism of the Romish church 
and infant baptism, and insisted that all who 
came into the fellowship of their churches 
should be scripturally baptized. This name 
Anabaptist was a term of contempt and was 
applied by their enemies indiscriminately to 
nearly all those sects not in harmony with the 
leading parties of the Reformation. It was 
often given to those who had little or nothing 
in common with the Anabaptists. 

As to the origin of the Anabaptists, church 
historians differ, but it is probable that, in 
many instances, they were the revival of the 



18 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

remains of the earlier sects or at least of their 
sentiments, which still lingered in many local- 
ities. Undoubtedly it was the quickened life 
and thought of the Eeformation that brought 
them again into notice and resulted in the vast 
increase of their numbers. Anabaptists held 
to the complete separation of Church and 
State, liberty of the individual conscience, and 
the Bible as the only rule of faith and prac- 
tice. They opposed infant baptism ; admitted 
none but regenerate persons to baptism and 
church-membership ; and practised immersion, 
for which they were often called "bathing 
men and women." As a result they were 
bitterly persecuted and outlawed. Never- 
theless, they greatly increased in numbers, 
and extended over a large part of Europe. 
They were numerous in Poland, Holland, 
England, Switzerland, and Germany, but they 
centered largely in Moravia, where they were 
sometimes called Huttites after one Jacob 
Hutter, a leader of great power among them. 
They were also numerous in Holland, where 
they were called Mennonites, after Menno 
Simons, a great leader in that locality. The 
persecutions suffered by the Mennonites or Ana- 
baptists of Holland, were cruel in the extreme. 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 19 

2. Baptists of the Old World. The Bap- 
tists of the last three hundred years are the 
direct descendants of the true Anabaptists of 
the period of the Reformation ; or perhaps, we 
might more correctly say, the Baptists were 
once called Anabaptists. So we find Mosheim, 
whose authority is great as a church historian, 
saying, " The true origin of that sect which ac- 
quired the name of Anabaptist, is hid in the 
remote depths of antiquity, and is consequently 
extremely difficult to be ascertained." So also 
Zwingli the Swiss reformer, and contemporary 
with Luther, says, " The institution of Ana- 
baptism is no novelty, but for thirteen hundred 
years has caused great disturbance in the 
church." Those Christians then who in the 
time of the Reformation w r ere called Anabap- 
tists, had a history extending back to within 
two hundred years of Christ, at least according 
to the confession of Zwingli himself, a man 
who had very few kindly feelings toward the 
sect. 

(a) Dutch Baptists. Not many years since 
Dr. Dermot, chaplain to the king of Holland, 
and Dr. Ypeij, theological professor at Gron- 
ingen, received a royal commission to prepare 
a history of the Reformed Dutch Church. 



20 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

This history, though written in the interests of 
the State Church, contains the following 
generous and truthful statement concerning 
the Dutch Baptists : " We have now seen that 
the Baptists, who were formerly called Ana- 
baptists and in later times, Mennonites, were 
the original Waldenses, and have long in the 
history of the church received the honor of 
that origin. On this account the Baptist may 
be considered the only Christian community 
which has stood since the apostles, and as a 
Christian society, which has preserved pure the 
doctrines of the gospel through all ages." 

Concerning the time when the Anabaptists of 
Holland and elsewhere assumed the name of 
Baptists, we cannot tell. It is probable that from 
the first they disowned the name of Anabap- 
tists, asserting that they did not re-baptize but 
simply baptized ; for otherwise they would 
acknowledge infant baptism as baptism. It is 
probable that as enmity began to wear away, 
their own name was gradually accepted by 
other bodies of Christians. It was not until 
1626, and after more than a century of perse-* 
cution, that the Baptists of Holland received 
anything like freedom or toleration. In later 
years the government has sought to make 



A BAPTIST CHTJUCH MANUAL 21 

amends by offering them special favors, but 
they have steadily declined any alliance with 
the State. 

(6) English Baptists. Early in the six- 
teenth century, Christians holding Baptist sen- 
timents fled from the continent into England 
for refuge from their persecutors. Some say 
they were found there much earlier, but the 
establishment of the fact is not without its 
difficulties. We know that as early as 1550, 
Baptists or Anabaptists were burned in Eng- 
land, thus showing that they had existed pre- 
vious to this early date long enough to have 
acquired considerable importance and to be 
feared and outlawed as a sect. During all the 
period of religious persecution in England, 
they were objects of special hatred, and suffered 
more perhaps than any other sect. But though 
outlawed and persecuted, they have always had 
a strong hold upon the religious thought of the 
nation, and represent to-day a long line of 
noble and illustrious names. There are Bap- 
tist churches still existing in England that 
claim to have a history, as distinct organiza- 
tions, reaching back over a period of more 
than three hundred years. 

(c) Welsh Baptists. The Welsh Baptists 



22 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

have a peculiar history. They do not claim to 
have had any particular connection with the 
Anabaptist sects of Europe, but to have 
originated from the apostles direct. It is im- 
possible in such an article as this to set forth 
the reasons that are given to maintain this 
position ; it must suffice to say, therefore, that 
the claim made by Welsh Baptists has never 
been successfully disproved. When Augustine 
or Austin, the Roman monk, visited Wales about 
the close of the sixth century, he found a com- 
munity of more than two thousand Christians 
living quietly in the mountains, who discarded 
the authority of the Roman Church, and so far 
as can be discovered, held essentially the same 
doctrine as the Baptists. From that day to 
this, though often persecuted and compelled to 
hide in their mountain fastnesses, they have 
preserved an unbroken and well authenticated 
history. 

(d) Baptists of America. There were Men- 
nonites, or Holland Baptists, among the first 
settlers of New Amsterdam (New York) in 
1626, but they had no influence so far as 
known. There were Baptists also among the 
first settlers of New England, though they 
were not permitted to form any churches of 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 23 

their own. The first Baptist church of Amer- 
ica was doubtless organized in 1639 in Provi- 
dence, Rhode Island, under the labors of Roger 
Williams. Mr. Williams was born of Welsh 
parentage about 1600, graduated at Oxford, 
and entered the Church of England ; but soon 
finding that he could not conform to all its re- 
quirements, and craving larger liberty, he sought 
the shores of New England, landing in Boston, 
February, 1631. He soon became minister of 
the Puritan church, Salem, Massachusetts. By 
his learning and great natural ability he gave 
promise of being one of the most influential 
men in all New England ; but having started 
in the search for truth, he did not pause till he 
found himself in accord with the despised and 
persecuted Baptists. He at once became an 
object of hatred, and the Puritans who had 
fled from persecution in the Old World, be- 
came themselves persecutors in the New. 
Williams was subjected to great indignities 
and cruel oppressions, and finally in midwinter, 
was forced to flee from the Colonies and seek 
protection in the depths of the wilderness. His 
sufferings from cold and hunger were great, 
and had it not been for the kindly attention 
of some Indians, he certainly would have 



24 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

perished. Traveling southward till he passed 
beyond the jurisdiction of the Colonies, he 
paused at the present site of Providence. 

Here he purchased a large tract of land 
from the Indians. Being joined by a few fol- 
lowers of like faith, he procured a charter for 
a new colony and became the founder of Rhode 
Island, calling both the State and city Prov- 
idence, in recognition of the divine guidance 
and deliverance which he felt he had enjoyed. 
Mr. Williams and his associates were Baptists 
in sentiment, but they had never been baptized, 
and there was no Baptist minister accessible 
by whom they might be baptized. They felt 
that they must have a church, that the church 
was of God and not of man, and hedged about 
as they were by necessity, that they were fully 
justified by the word of God and their own 
consciences in practising the ordinances and or- 
ganizing a church without aid or authority 
from abroad. Accordingly, Mr. Williams was 
immersed by one of his associates, a layman, 
when he, in turn, baptized his associates, some 
eleven in all ; and thus according to the best 
authorities was organized the first Baptist 
church in America. 

On account of the persecutions which they 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 25 

suffered elsewhere, many Baptists soon collected 
at Providence and spread through the new 
colony. The next church founded was at 
Newport, in Rhode Island, in 1644. 1 It was 
formed under the leadership of Dr. John 
Clarke, a Baptist minister from London, Eng- 
land, who was driven out of the Massachusetts 
Colony with many other Baptists recently 
arrived from England. Other churches were 
speedily formed in Rhode Island, in various 
parts of New England, on Long Island, in 
New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, 
and South Carolina. From one cause and an- 
other, as the Baptist denomination increased, 
small bodies from time to time went off from 
it, viz the " Seventh Day," " Six Principle," 
"Free Will," now "Free," "Anti-Mission 
Baptist," and others. These sects, however, 
have never flourished extensively, and for the 
most part have been confined to certain local- 
ities, while Regular Baptists extend over the 
whole of the United States aud Canada. In 
the United States their growth and progress, 
have been remarkable. In 1740 there were 



1 There has long been a dispute as to the primacy, 
between these two churches. The above order, how- 
ever, is the one generally accepted. 



26 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

less than three thousand Baptists in the 
country. Fifty years from that time there 
were about sixty-five thousand. From this 
time on, religious liberty being accorded them, 
their progress was rapid and constantly ac- 
celerated. Thirty-five years ago there were in 
the United States about nine hundred thousand 
Baptists ; recent statistics (1895) show that the 
number is three million six hundred and thirty- 
seven thousand four hundred and twenty-one. 
The past few years show an increase in member- 
ship of more than one hundred thousand per 
year. The denomination has many colleges and 
seminaries located in different parts of the land, 
and through its various denominational so- 
cieties is doing a most extensive missionary 
work at home and abroad. Baptist history 
should awaken among Baptists the profoundest 
gratitude, for it is a history comprehending 
many centuries of heroic struggle for the truth, 
crowned at last with abundant victory. 



FORM OF CHURCH GOVERNMENT 

I. As to Principle: 

(a) In the administration of its government 
and the exercise of its authority, the church is 
not legislative but executive. It may have its 
usages and forms in the transaction of its 
business, but it cannot make laws vitally af- 
fecting its organization or government. It 
can only execute those already made by the 
Great Lawgiver, as laid down in the New 
Testament. In other w 7 ords, the church is not 
a human but a divine institution. Eph. 1 : 22 ; 
James 4: 12; 2 Tim. 3:16. 

(6) The church is not to be controlled by 
one individual or set of individuals ; but all 
are to share alike in its government, all ques- 
tions being decided by the majority. The 
church may appoint committees to do certain 
work and may confer certain functions on in- 
dividuals ; but the church must do this, and 
the church must ever hold these committees and 
individuals as amenable to it. Matt. 18 : 17; 
23 : 8-12 ; Acts 1 : 26 ; 6 : 5 ; 13 : 1-3 ; 15 : 22. 

27 



28 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

(c) The church should hold itself aloof from 
all alliance with secular governments. In the 
protection of its property and its rights, it may 
demand the aid of the State, as any other com- 
pany of citizens, but it should never receive pa- 
tronage or ask for its aid in the enforcement 
of its faith. Mark 12 : 17 ; John 17 : 14-16 ; 
18:36; Acts4:19; 5:29; Eph. 1 : 21. 

(d) There should be no such thing as a 
great ecclesiastical organization standing out- 
side of the individual church, exercising au- 
thority over it. Yet there should be inter- 
dependence, co-operation, and fellowship among 
the churches. There should be exchange of 
Advisory Councils when needed, and co-opera- 
tion in carrying on great denominational and 
missionary enterprises. John 17 : 21 ; Acts 6 : 
1-5 ; 13 : 1-3 ; 15 : 1-31; Rom. 15 : 25-27 ; 
16:16; 1 Cor. 14 : 33 ; 16 : 1-3 ; 2 Cor. 8 : 1- 
4; 9 ; Eph. 4 : 1-16 ; Eev. 2 : 7 ; 22 : 16. 

II. As to Form: 

(a) In the organization of a church Bap- 
tists recognize only two church officers as re- 
quired by the New Testament, viz., that of 
" Pastor " or " Evangelist," called also " Bish- 
op " or " Overseer " (the two being the same 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 29 

in Greek), " Elder " or " Presbyter " (the same 
also in Greek), and that of Deacon. Phil. 1 : 
1; 1 Tim. 3 : 1-8 ; 4 : 14 ; Acts 20 : 17-28 ; Eph. 
4:11; 2 Tim. 4 : 5 ; 1 Peter 2 : 25. There are 
also other officers, such as clerk, treasurer, 
trustees, etc., but these are to be regarded as 
committees to do a specific work. 

(6) Baptist churches, while independent in 
their government, are yet, for various reasons, 
grouped into Associations, according to their 
convenience of location with reference to each 
other. These Associations meet yearly — each 
church within their boundaries being repre- 
sented by delegates — for the purpose of gather- 
ing the yearly statistics of the churches, for 
instituting measures for carrying on any work 
which they may have in common, for the con- 
sideration of questions of interest to the 
churches and the denomination, and exchange 
of fraternal greetings. Besides these Associa- 
tions there are larger organizations for carry- 
ing on denominational and missionary work 
which cannot be done by the Associations, 
such as State Conventions, Publication, Home 
and Foreign Mission Societies. (See article 
on " Our Baptist Benevolent Societies.") 



BAPTISM 

I. Our Point of View. 

Baptists hold that this question is to be de- 
termined wholly by an appeal to the Scrip- 
tures. They believe that the Bible is the sole 
authority in matters of faith and practice, and 
that baptism to have any significance must be 
based solely upon that. Baptists hold that the 
Scriptures speak plainly on the question of 
baptism ; that, since baptism is a command 
imposed alike on all believers, it must be set 
forth in plain and unequivocal language so 
that all may easily understand it ; and that 
the plain and obvious meaning of Scripture in 
regard to it must be taken. Baptists also hold 
that the spirit of true obedience requires an 
unreserved and unquestioned submission to the 
commands of our Lord ; that this obedience 
never asks what is essential but what is com- 
manded. 

II. Is Baptism Kequired? 

Baptism was insisted upon during the min- 
30 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 31 

istry of Christ and throughout the apostolic 
ministry, and was made a permanent require- 
ment. The Great Commission of Christ im- 
poses baptism alike on all believers without 
distinction of time, place, or circumstances. 
The command to repent and believe is not 
more positive and plain, than the command to 
be baptized. Matt. 3 : 15 ; Luke 3:3; John 
3:5,22,26; 4:1; Acts 2: 38; 10:48; 22: 
16; Rom. 13 : 14; Matt. 10 : 32, 33 ; 28:19; 
Mark 16 : 16. 

III. Who May be Baptized? 

From the above references it will be seen 
that our Lord in his Great Commission en- 
joins baptism only on those who believe. In 
accordance with this commission Peter, on the 
day of Pentecost, said to the inquiring multi- 
tude, "Kepent and be baptized." As a re- 
sult, we are told that " they that gladly re- 
ceived his word " were baptized (Acts 2 : 41), 
thus showing that they had undergone a change 
of heart before baptism was administered. 
Thus also the Samaritans were baptized " when 
they believed " (Acts 8 : 12). It was when the 
Ethiopian could say that he believed in Christ 
" with all his heart " that he was baptized 



32 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

(Acts 8 : 37, 38). Not uotil Paul had heen 
filled with the Holy Ghost was he baptized 
(Acts 9 : 17, 18). Not until Cornelius and his 
friends had " believed," and " received the 
Holy Ghost/' were they baptized (Acts 10 : 44, 
47, 48). It was when Crispus and his house 
" believed on the Lord " that they were bap- 
tized (Acts 18 : 8). Paul tells us that those 
only are fit subjects for baptism, who are pre- 
pared to bury the old life of sin and to accept 
the new life of holiness (Rom. 6 : 3-6). Peter 
tells us that baptism is " the answer of a good 
conscience toward God " ; that is, the baptism 
does not make a good conscience, nor precede 
it, but is the result or reply of a good con- 
science (1 Peter 3 : 21). 

From all this it appears that faith and re- 
pentance must precede baptism ; nor is there a 
single instance of, or declaration concerning, 
baptism in the New Testament that will admit 
of an opposite conclusion. It is upon the above 
understanding of the teaching of the New Tes- 
tament that Baptists repudiate the doctrines 
of baptismal regeneration and infant baptism. 

IV. What is Baptism? 

This is an important question, for the reason 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 33 

that baptism is not' a principle or truth in 
itself, but is the expression of a truth. It is 
held by some Christians that there are three 
forms of baptism : sprinkling, pouring, and 
immersion, either of which is valid. This Bap- 
tists hold cannot be, because baptism as a 
symbolic act must in its form be definite and 
unvarying. 

(a) There are only four passages from which 
the symbolism of baptism may be established. 
Baptism, as referred to in John 3 : 5, is linked 
with the idea of a new birth, and is intended 
to be descriptive of that fact, since it is in re- 
ply to the question of Nicodemus concerning 
the nature of the new birth. Birth is the 
emerging from one state of existence into an- 
other and is fitly symbolized only by immer- 
sion. 

In Eom. 6 : 3-5 and Col. 2 : 12 it is declared 
that baptism is designed to set forth the fact 
of death to sin and resurrection to a new 
life of holiness. The only baptism that can 
represent a burial and resurrection is im- 
mersion, whereby the whole body is laid be- 
neath the water and raised therefrom. In 
Gal. 3 : 27 baptism is said to denote " the put- 
ting on of Christ/' the allusion being to the 



34 A BAPTIST CHUECH MANUAL 

act of enveloping one's self as with a mantle. 
This symbolism can be expressed only by the 
act of immersion. 

(h) Still further evidence may be derived 
from the word itself. The word "baptize" 
is a Greek word with an English termina- 
tion, having never been translated but simply 
transferred into our English versions of the 
Scriptures. All Greek lexicographers agree 
that the primary meaning of the word 
" baptize" or "baptizo" is "to dip," "to 
plunge," "to immerse." If the New Testa- 
ment writers had wished to express the idea of 
"sprinkling" or "pouring," there were words 
in the Greek with these primary meanings 
which they could have used, such as "ran- 
tizo " and " cheo," but these words are never 
used by them in connection with baptism. If 
baptism meant " sprinkle," " pour," and " im- 
merse," either or all, then we would expect 
to find the inspired writers using " baptizo " 
interchangeably with " rantizo " and " cheo." 
On the contrary they used the one word " bap- 
tizo," even though they are compelled to re- 
peat it in its various forms more than a hun- 
dred times. 

(c) Much circumstantial evidence may be 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 35 

derived from the New Testament. We are 
told that the people who came to John " were 
baptized of him in Jordan " (Matt. 3 : 5, 6 ; 
Mark 1:5). That Christ when he was bap- 
tized " went up straightway out of the water " 
(Matt. 3:16; Mark 1 : 10) ; that Philip led 
the eunuch "down into the water" and " up 
out of the water." Again we are told that 
John baptized in JEnon near Salim " because 
there was much water there " (John 3 : 23). 

The plea is sometimes made that "John bap- 
tized with water," thus conveying the idea of 
putting water upon the individual. Our Eng- 
lish version reads that " John baptized with 
water " (Mark 1:8; Matt. 3:11; Luke 3:16; 
John 1 : 26 ; Acts 1:5), but strict accuracy 
requires that the passages in Matthew, Mark, 
and John should be translated "in water." 
In Luke there is no preposition, but the paral- 
lel passages in the other Gospels require that 
the preposition " in " should be supplied. The 
same is true of the passage in Acts, which is 
still further strengthened by the preposition 
" in " used there in connection with the Spirit, 
as appears in the Greek. 

In reference to Acts 2 : 41 the question is 
sometimes raised, " Was there water enough at 



36 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

Jerusalem to immerse the three thousand, and 
could they all be immersed in one day ? " Je- 
rusalem abounded in tanks and pools, afford- 
ing the most ample means for the administra- 
tion of the rite. There was no obstacle to the 
use of the public reservoirs. (See Hackett's 
Commentary, and Ellicott's English Commen- 
tary.) According to actual test, the rite can be 
administered by immersion with ease and due 
solemnity once a minute. Less than one minute 
each was required to baptize the two thousand 
two hundred and twenty-two baptized in the 
Telugu mission a few years ago by Dr. Clough 
and his assistants. But at the rate of one per 
minute the apostles would have been enabled 
to baptize the three thousand in four hours 
and ten minutes. It is probable that they had 
at least seven or eight hours for the baptism ; 
and there is no reason why the Seventy (Luke 
10 : 1) may not have been called in to assist 
the Twelve. The case of the jailer baptized 
in the prison (Acts 16 : 33) is sometimes cited 
as one in which immersion was not practi- 
cable. It is not positively stated that he was 
baptized within the walls of the prison. But 
if he were this would form no obstacle to 
immersion ; for baths and reservoirs were 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 37 

common appurtenances of houses and public 
edifices among the Greeks and Komans. (See 
Hackett, also Meyer.) 

Immersion was the only form of baptism 
practised from the time of the apostles until 
the third century of the Christian era, and to 
this fact most scholars and historians of Chris- 
tendom testify. For quotations see Cramp's 
"Baptist History," pp. 16-18, also pp. 5-8. 



THE LORD'S SUPPER, OR COM- 
MUNION 

This ordinance is designated in the New Tes- 
tament by three expressions : " Communion/' 
the " Lord's Table," and the " Lord's Supper " 
(1 Cor. 10 : 16, 21 ; 1 Cor. 11 : 20). Its desig- 
nation, the "sacrament," has perhaps grown 
out of the superstitious belief that when the 
bread and wine have been consecrated, it be- 
comes savingly efficacious to those who par- 
take. Baptists maintain that communion is re- 
stricted in its character rather than unrestrict- 
ed, although practically there is no such thing 
among evangelical Christians as unrestricted 
communion. All insist that certain conditions 
must be complied with before coming to the 
Lord's table. The question as to what re- 
striction should be put upon this ordinance 
must be settled, not by our preferences, but by 
an appeal to the word of God. 
1. Is the Ordinance of Communion to 
be Restricted ? 

(a) The Lord's Supper grew out of the 

38 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 39 

passover feast and is a substitution for it (Matt. 
26 : 17, 26-29). Christ is called "our pass- 
over " (1 Cor. 5:7; compare also John 19 : 
14). Both the Supper and the Passover sym- 
bolize the same great fact, only the one is 
retrospective and the other prospective. The 
Supper, therefore, must partake of the charac- 
ter of the Passover; and this doubtless was 
Christ's design in attaching it to that feast. 
But the passover feast, by direct command, 
was restricted to the household. Only in case 
the family was too small to consume the lamb 
at one sitting, were others to be allowed a place 
at the table, and they must be next-door neigh- 
bors and intimate acquaintances of the family. 
(See Exod. 12 : 3, 4 and 45-46.) The ob- 
servance of the Lord's Supper by individual 
churches, which are so many distinct house- 
holds in Christ, is an exact fulfillment of this 
requirement. Christ substituted bread and 
wine for the lamb, but he did not abrogate 
this restriction. 

(b) When Christ instituted and first ob- 
served the Supper, it was not in the midst of 
a general assembly of Christians, but in the 
midst of his chosen and intimate disciples 
(Matt. 26 : 20). The next mention of the 



40 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

Supper is in Acts 2 : 46, where it is expressly 
represented as being observed, not at the tem- 
ple where the Christians in general assembled, 
but at their homes, in households, among those 
who had with each other the most intimate 
Christian acquaintance and fellowship, and the 
same may be reasonably inferred from the al- 
lusion in Acts 20 : 7-11. The Apostle Paul's 
argument in 1 Cor. 10 : 16-21 and 11 : 18-34 
is for restriction in the observance of the 
Lord's Supper. 

II. What are the Restrictions Imposed ? 

Faith in Christ and a Christly life are the 
chief prerequisites. John 6 : 53-57 ; Acts 2 : 
46, 47 ; Acts 20 : 7 ; 1 Cor. 10 : 16-21 and 
11 : 20-29. Besides the Lord's Supper the 
only other ordinance instituted by our Lord 
was that of baptism, and that baptism should 
always precede the observance of the Supper 
the Scriptures clearly reveal. 

(a) This appears from the historic relation 
existing between the two ordinances. Our 
Lord instituted baptism at the beginning of 
his ministry (John 3 : 23 ; John 4:1); he 
instituted the Supper at the close of his minis- 
try (Matt. 26 : 26) ; from which we may infer 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 41 

that this was the natural and appropriate order 
to be observed. 

(b) The symbolism of the two ordinances 
requires this order. Baptism symbolizes the 
new birth. John 3:5; Rom. 6:4; Titus 3 : 
5 : 1 Peter 3 : 21. Communion not only com- 
memorates the death of our Lord, but also 
symbolizes our spiritual nourishment in him. 
John 6 : 41-58; 1 Cor. 10 : 16, 17; 1 Cor. 
11 : 28-30. 

(c) This order is enforced by positive com- 
mand. In all the commands pertaining to 
these two ordinances, baptism is placed as the 
first duty to be performed after repentance and 
faith. Matt. 28 : 19, 20 ; Acts 2 : 38 ; Acts 
22 : 16. Necessarily therefore, communion 
must follow and not precede baptism. 

(d) This order was scrupulously observed by 
the apostolic church as far as we have any 
record. Not until after the three thousand 
had been baptized is there any account of their 
" breaking bread" (Acts 2 : 41-47). In Acts 
20 : 7, " the disciples came together to break 
bread." Members of the church alone are 
addressed by Paul in 1 Cor. chap. 10 and 11. 
To this relation of the ordinances all denomina- 
tions of Christians practically agree. Baptists, 



42 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

however, hold that immersion and immersion 
only is scriptural baptism, and for this reason 
they are more restrictive in respect to the 
communion than other denominations. 



CHURCH DISCIPLINE 

Baptists have no " Book of Discipline," 
but in such matters, as in all other matters of 
faith and practice, they resort to the word of 
God as their only rightful authority. 
I. The Duty of Church Discipline. 

The New Testament enjoins upon the church 
the duty of exercising discipline over its mem- 
bers. This is enforced as a positive command. 
See Matt. 18:15-17; Luke 17:3; Rom. 
16:17; 1 Cor. 5 : 5, 7, 11, 13 ; 2 Cor. 6:17; 
2 Thess. 3 : 6 ; 1 Tim. 5 : 20. The Apostle 
Paul commended the Corinthian church for 
its careful and zealous exercise of discipline 
over its disorderly members (2 Cor. 7 : 8-13). 
Our ascended Lord approved the church of 
Ephesus, because "it tried them which say 
they are apostles and are not." On the other 
hand, he threatened the church in Pergamos 
with judgment because it retained those who 
held to a the doctrine of Balaam," and to " the 
doctrine of the Nicolaitans " He likewise 
reproved the church in Thyatira because it 

43 



44 A BAPTIST CHUBCH MANUAL 

suffered " that woman Jezebel, which calleth 
herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce " 
his servants. Eev. 2 : 2, 14, 15, 16, 20. If, 
therefore, the church is to expect the approval 
of its divine Head, it must keep itself free 
from false teachers and evil persons. 

IT. The Aim of Church Discipline. 

(a) The chief aim of church discipline, as 
set forth in the New Testament, is to save the 
offender. Matt. 18 : 15-17 ; Gal. 6:1; Titus, 
3 : 10. Even when it is impossible to bring 
the offender to repentance, and exclusion be- 
comes necessary, his spiritual welfare should 
still be the end sought for. Indeed, the very 
act of exclusion is designed to awaken the of- 
fender to a sense of his condition and to a 
realization of the fact that he is not of the 
church, but of the world. 1 Cor. 5 : 5. 

(6) A further aim is to save others in the 
church who may be tempted into sin or cor- 
rupted by the evil example of those already 
guilty. 1 Tim. 5 : 20 ; Eev. 2 : 20 ; Deut. 13 : 
10, 11. The moral tone of the entire mem- 
bership may be lowered by the bad example 
of one member. No opportunity should be 
afforded to any one guilty of misdemeanors to 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 45 

shield himself behind some graver offender 
who remains in the church unrebuked. 

(c) A church should exercise discipline 
when necessary, in order that it may vindi- 
cate its own character. The church is of 
God, who loves the right and condemns the 
wrong. The church is " the body of Christ," 
and he is " head over all things to the church." 
When, therefore, a church ceases to cherish 
the right and condemn the wrong, w T hen it 
ceases to oppose that which is directly opposed 
to Christ, then it belies its divine origin, and all 
reason for its separate existence is at an end. 
Wherever sin openly manifests itself in the 
church, it, is to be rebuked, and all who will- 
fully oppose themselves to the plain require- 
ments of the Christian life must be thrust 
without, as having no part with the disciples 
of Christ. 2 Cor. 6: 14-16. 

III. Law t s of Church Discipline. 

The New Testament recognizes three great 
causes for discipline, viz. : Personal difficul- 
ties, heresy in doctrine, immorality in con- 
duct. For the treatment of cases under either 
of these heads, there are very plain and ex- 
plicit laws. 



46 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

(a) The law pertaining to personal diffi- 
culties. This is to be found in Matt. 18 : 15- 
17. This rule is applicable only to cases of 
personal difficulty. When proper explana- 
tions and apologies are met by a refusal to be 
reconciled, it then becomes the duty of the 
church to consider the matter. In a case 
where neither party is willing to make any effort 
at reconciliation, and the matter becomes a re- 
proach to the church, it becomes the duty of 
the church to consider the matter even though 
the first steps, as above indicated, have not 
been taken. 

(6) The law pertaining to heresy in doctrine. 
"A man that is a heretic, after the first and 
second admonition, reject " (Titus 3 : 10). Dif- 
ferences of opinion on many doctrines and 
differences of interpretation of many passages 
of Scripture are natural and admissible. But 
a " heretic," strictly speaking, is one who is 
radically deficient in his faith, who denies and 
seeks to subvert the fundamental principles of 
the Christian religion. Moreover, he is, as the 
Greek word implies, " a faction maker." He 
may use his false doctrines to create division 
and strife in the church. He may have a bitter, 
bad spirit coupled with his errors. Such a one 






A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 47 

is to be admonished. If he is in error through 
ignorance, and seems to show a teachable 
spirit, he is to be borne with and admonished, 
not only once, but twice. If, however, he is 
incorrigible and hopeless at the very start, one 
admonition is sufficient. After that he is to 
" be rejected," which means, thrust without the 
pale of the church. 

(c) The law pertaining to immorality of 
conduct. This law prescribes three methods 
of procedure according to the gravity of the 
offense. 

1. Sudden faults. " Brethren, if a man be 
overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, 
restore such a one in the spirit of meekness ; 
considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted " 
(Gal. 6:1). This is a case evidently where 
one, under the pressure of sudden and great 
temptation, has been surprised and over- 
taken with sin. And the sin into which he is 
led is not some gross wickedness, but is a 
" fault," a misstep. His sin is just that which 
the most " spiritual " under like circumstances 
and like temptations might fall into. The 
manner of dealing with such a person is to 
seek and restore him, to reach out to him a 
helping hand, to encourage him to undertake 



48 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

once more the path of rectitude, as no doubt 
in his heart of hearts, he desires. This need 
not be a formal act on the part of the church, 
but brethren should go to him individually, 
and by their sympathy and entreaty, seek to 
reclaim him. If he has " the root of the mat- 
ter " in him, he will hasten to make due 
* apology and confession to the church as a 
whole. 

2. Confirmed habits of wrong-doing. " Now 
we command you, brethren, in the name of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw your- 
selves from every brother that walketh dis- 
orderly " (2 Thess. 3 : 6). This has reference 
to one who is confirmed in disorderly ways, 
" who walks disorderly," who makes that 
his habit, his mode of life. The manner of 
dealing with cases of this kind is left entirely 
to the discretion of the church. It must with- 
draw itself from these disorderly persons, but 
the mode of procedure is left to be determined 
by each case. The course to be pursued in one 
case may not be the best in another. It may 
be well to commit the investigation of one case 
into the hands of a committee specifically ap- 
pointed for that purpose, the church to take 
the results of its investigations. It may be 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 49 

well to submit the details of another ease to 
the scrutiny of the entire church. The man- 
ner of taking evidence in one case may not be 
possible in another. With some it may be 
well to go through a long process of what is 
called " labor " ; that is, visiting them through 
committees and individuals and seeking to re- 
claim them. With others, this course may be 
impossible, or it may be wholly uncalled for, 
it being evident from the very start that it 
will be useless. 

3. Gross immorality. The full text of the 
law pertaining to this it is impossible here to 
quote. We can only refer to the passage 
which constitutes the whole of 1 Cor. 5. It 
will be found that gross immorality is to be 
treated with great promptness and unflinching 
severity. The honor of the church and the 
good of the cause may require immediate ex- 
pulsion and without any reference to the feel- 
ings of the offender — it being impossible usu- 
ally for the church, or the individual himself, 
under the circumstances, to distinguish be- 
tween sorrow for the discovery of the sin and 
that for the sin itself. See also 2 Cor. 7 : 11 ; 
Deut. 13 : 8. 



GENERAL BAPTIST BENEVOLENT 
ENTERPRISES 

These are conducted by various organ- 
izations composed of members of Baptist 
churches. 

1. The American Baptist Missionary Union. 

This Society was organized in 1814, though 
it did not assume its present name until 1845. 
Its headquarters are at Boston, where its 
Board is accustomed to meet. Its object is to 
send the gospel into foreign lands. It has a 
number of missionaries in Europe; but its 
greatest work is among the heathen nations of 
Asia and Africa, where it has a large mission- 
ary force and many stations, and where it num- 
bers its converts by thousands. It is perhaps 
as flourishing a missionary organization as ex- 
ists. It is a great honor to the denomination, 
and has enrolled among the names of its mis- 
sionaries some of the greatest heroes of modern 
Christianity. No object of benevolence has 
greater claim on our prayers and contribu- 
tions. 
50 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 51 

2. The American Baptist Publication So- 
ciety. 

This Society was organized in 1824. Its 
headquarters are in Philadelphia. Its object 
is to do colporter and Sunday-school mission- 
ary work and furnish Sunday-school, denomi- 
national, and other Christian literature. To 
its care is committed the Bible work of the 
denomination. It is also designed as a chan- 
nel for the dissemination of general religious 
literature through its colporters and Sunday- 
school missionaries. It has two departments, 
a publishing and a benevolent department. 
As a publishing house, it takes care of itself, 
and is the largest contributor to its missionary 
fund. For its missionary work it is depend- 
ent on the contributions of the churches. 

3. The American Baptist Home Mission 
Society. 

This Society was organized in 1832. Its 
headquarters are in New York City. Its ob- 
ject is to secure the proclamation of the gospel 
in the destitute or neglected districts in North 
America, and to organize and sustain churches 
as circumstances may warrant. It devotes 
much attention to work among the Negroes of 
the South, sustaining many schools and mission- 



52 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

aries among them. It also has stations and 
missionaries among the Indians, and has de- 
partments of work among the foreign-speaking 
population of our country, and is doing a most 
important work in Mexico and Alaska. It 
has also a church edifice fund, from which 
loans are made to aid churches in securing 
houses of worship. The value and magnitude 
of its work constitute it one of the most im- 
portant organizations of the denomination. 

4. The Southern Baptist Convention was or- 
ganized in 1845. It consists of three Boards : 
Foreign Mission, Home Mission, and Sunday- 
school, having their headquarters at Rich- 
mond, Atlanta, and Nashville. It is a large 
and influential body, and is doing an excellent 
work. 

5. The American Baptist Education Society 
was organized at Washington in 1888. Its 
headquarters are in New York, and its pur- 
pose is to aid our institutions of learning both 
financially and otherwise, as ability and occa- 
sion may suggest and permit. 

6. The Baptist Young People's Union of 
America was organized in Chicago in 1891. Its 
headquarters are in Chicago, and it has for its 
purpose " to provide a fraternal union for all 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 53 

young people's organizations in the Baptist 
churches of North America." It publishes 
a weekly journal and is rapidly extending in 
numbers and influence. 

The first three societies, Foreign, Publica- 
tion, and Home, meet together annually for the 
transaction of business, each society having an 
equal share of the time of the meeting, for the 
consideration of its interests. The Education 
Society has alternated in the holding of its 
annual meeting between the Northern socie- 
ties and the Southern Baptist Convention. 
Churches contributing to the Northern societies 
a certain amount, may send delegates ; but the 
interests of these societies are mainly in the 
hands of life managers and life-members, any 
member of a Baptist church having the privi- 
lege of becoming such by the payment of a 
certain designated sum. 

In addition to these national societies of 
Northern and Southern Baptists there are 

7. The State Conventions. In the most of 
the States the churches have what is usually 
called a State Convention, a society organized 
for the purpose of aiding the feeble churches 
and doing a general missionary work within 
the State. The Convention meets annually 



54 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

for the transaction of business, and receives 
delegates from the Associations and churches 
in the State. 

8. Ministerial Education. There are va- 
rious societies organized for this purpose in 
different parts of the land. They exist usually 
in connection with our colleges and theologi- 
cal seminaries, having a Board of trustees, 
elected from the churches immediately inter- 
ested. They have for their object the pecuni- 
ary assistance of young men studying for the 
ministry, who have not themselves the means 
for pursuing a course of study. The object 
is certainly a most important one. 

The women of our churches have their Home 
and Foreign Mission Societies, which co-oper- 
ate with the general societies, with headquarters 
in Chicago and Boston respectively. There 
are also other smaller organizations that have 
a limited support. The above, however, con- 
stitute the great leading societies that appeal 
to the regular benevolent contributions of the 
churches. 



USAGES OF BAPTISTS 

I. Concerning Church Officers. 

(a) The pastor is called by vote of the 
church, and continues in office as long as both 
parties are agreed to continue the relation. 
His special duties are preaching the gospel, 
administering the ordinances, exercising pas- 
toral oversight, and taking the general guidance 
and care of the religious interests of the church 
and people. 

(6) The deacons are elected, by vote of the 
church, for a definite or indefinite period. 
Their duties consist in caring for the sick and 
needy members, assisting in the administration 
of the ordinances, and in every way aiding the 
pastor in his work. 

(c) For convenience and expediency, other 
officers are, from time to time, elected for the 
purpose of looking after the many other inter- 
ests of the church. 

II. Eeception of Members. 

(a) All persons applying for membership in 

55 



56 A BAPTIST CHUKCH MANUAL 

the church, should be presented on recom- 
mendation of the pastor and deacons, or on the 
recommendation of a committee on membership 
which the church may appoint. 

(6) No one should be received into member- 
ship without the unanimous vote of the church ; 
unless the church after due inquiry, is satisfied 
that the person or persons objecting, have no 
just ground for their complaint. 

(c) Persons applying for membership by 
baptism, must give evidence of conversion, and 
assent to Baptist faith and practice. 

(d) Members of other Baptist churches, may 
be received on their letters of dismission, 
provided those letters are of recent date. 
Otherwise, they may be required to relate 
their Christian experience, or give satisfactory 
explanation of their delay in presenting their 
letters of dismission. 

(e) Persons coming from other denomina- 
tions, and who have been scripturally bap- 
tized, 1 or persons who were once members of 
Baptist churches, but have lost their connec- 
tion, by long absence or for other similar 
causes, may be received after the relation of 
their Christian experience. 

1 In some parts of the country baptism is required. 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 57 

(/) Persons excluded from the church may 
be restored after making due confession to the 
church, and giving satisfactory evidence of re- 
pentance for their faults. 

(g) The right hand of fellowship is given to 
new members at the communion service, and 
is designed simply as an expression of the wel- 
come and fellowship of the church. 

III. Dismission of Members. 

(a) Members should be dismissed with the 
game unanimity with which they are received. 

(6) A member may be dismissed to the 
fellowship of another Baptist church by letter 
of recommendation. 

(c) A member uniting with another denom- 
ination may be dismissed by the granting of a 
certificate of standing, or membership may end 
by the simple erasure of the name from the 
list of members. 

(d) A member, under discipline, found 
guilty of the charges made, is by vote excluded. 

(e) On the death of any member, his or her 
name is simply erased, as having been trans- 
ferred above by One who awaits not the action 
of any church. 

(/) Any one receiving a letter is still re- 



58 A BAPTIST CHUUCH MANUAL 

garded as a member of the church granting 
the letter of dismission, and is subject to the 
authority and discipline of the church until 
received into the fellowship of another church. 

(g) A member under discipline is expected 
to refrain from active participation in the 
rights and privileges of membership. 

(A) When a member is excluded, he is offi- 
cially notified of the same by the church 
clerk. 

IV. Absent Members. 

(a) Members removing with the intention 
of residing permanently in the vicinity of a 
sister Baptist church, should take Letters of 
Dismission to that church. 

(i) Members intending to be absent tem- 
porarily, should take with them letters of in- 
troduction to the church where they may be 
residing. 

(c) Members removing to a locality where 
there is no church of like faith and order, 
should communicate with the church at least 
once each year. 

(d) Members absent for a long period with- 
out communicating with the church, may be 
excluded for neglect of the church. 



PARLIAMENTARY RULES 

The following are a few of the plainest and 
most commonly accepted parliamentary rules 
governing the conduct of the business meeting 
of Baptist churches. 

I. Business Meetings. 

(a) No important business should be done 
without an attendance that would be con- 
sidered representative ; and no meeting for the 
transaction of business should take place with- 
out previous notice, so that all members may 
have opportunity to attend. 

(6) The order of business may be suspended 
at any time by vote of the meeting, or by the 
moderator, no one objecting. 

II. Motions. 

(a) All business should be presented by a 
motion, made by one member and seconded by 
another. 

(6) A resolution and an ordinary motion, 
when requested, should be presented in writing. 

(c) A question is not to be discussed until 

59 



60 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

it has been moved and seconded, and then 
stated by the moderator. 

(d) A motion before the meeting must be 
disposed of before any other questions can be 
introduced, except questions of privilege. 

(e) A motion lost should not be recorded. 

III. Speaking. 

(a) Any one speaking on a question should 
rise in his place, and address the moderator. 

(h) If two rise and address the moderator 
at the same time, preference is given to the 
one farthest from the moderator. 

(c) Any one using improper language, in- 
troducing improper subjects, or who may be 
otherwise out of order, may be called to order 
by the moderator, or any member, and must 
take his seat or conform to the rules. 

(d) No one speaking may be interrupted 
without his consent, unless he is out of order. 

(e) Remarks should be brief, and no one 
can speak more than twice on the same ques- 
tion, except by permission. 

IV. Voting. 

(a) Voting by the raising of the hand is 
preferred by many, although this is at the dis- 
cretion of the moderator or meeting. 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 61 

(6) In cases of special importance, voting 
by ballot or by standing may be resorted to. 

(c) The moderator calls first the affirmative 
and then the negative, announcing at the con- 
clusion, whether the motion is carried or lost. 

(d) All members are allowed to vote, except 
such as may be under discipline. 

(e) The moderator may give the casting 
vote, but should rarely claim the privilege. 

(/) No motion, discussion, or other pro- 
ceeding can be admitted while a vote is being 
taken. 

V. Questions of Privilege. 

(a) While a motion is pending, it may be 
amended by another motion. An amendment 
should not essentially change the nature or 
design of the original motion. An amendment 
to an amendment may be made, but this should 
be the limit. 

(6) A substitute may be offered for any 
motion or amendment under debate, which 
may or may not change the meaning of the 
motion. 

(c) A question may be interrupted and de- 
ferred by a motion to lay it on the table. If 
this is for an indefinite time, it is regarded 



62 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

as a final dismissal of the question, though any- 
one may have the right, subsequently, to call 
it up again. A motion to lay on the table for 
a specified time is not debatable. 

(d) A debate may be cut short by a ? vote to 
take " the previous question," that is, the ques- 
tion as originally announced without any ad- 
ditions or amendments that may have been 
made. If carried, the original question must 
be taken up and immediately disposed of with- 
out debate. A motion to take up the " pre- 
vious question " is not debatable. 

(e) If when a question is introduced, a mem- 
ber objects to its discussion as foreign, profit- 
less, or contentious, the moderator should im- 
mediately put the question, " shall this ques- 
tion be discussed," and if decided in the nega- 
tive, the whole matter is at once dismissed. 
The motion as to whether the question shall 
be discussed is not debatable. 

(/) A question under discussion may be re- 
ferred by vote to a committee. 

(#) A motion to reconsider a motion pre- 
viously passed, must be made by one who 
voted for the motion when the previous action 
was taken. If the motion to reconsider pre- 
vails, the original motion is placed before the 



A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 63 

meeting as at first, and may be discussed, re- 
scinded, or re-affirmed. 

(/*,) A motion to adjourn is always in order 
(except when one is speaking), and takes pre- 
cedence of all other motions, and is not debat- 
able, nor can it be amended, unless it be to fix 
a time and place for meeting again. 

(i) The moderator announces all votes, and 
decides all questions of order in debate ; but 
any member dissatisfied with his decision, may 
appeal to the meeting. A vote is then taken 
upon the question " shall the decision of the 
moderator be sustained." The decision of the 
meeting is final. 

VI. Committees. 

(a) Committees are nominated by the mod- 
erator or by the meeting itself; the nomina- 
tion being confirmed by vote of the meeting. 

(6) The first one named in the appointment 
of a committee is considered the chairman, 
though the committee has the right to elect 
its own chairman when it has been called to- 
gether. 

(c) Any subject in debate, or matter of busi- 
ness, may be referred to a committee, with or 
without instructions ; the committee to report 



64 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

the result of its investigation to the meet- 
ing. 

(c?) The report of a committee should be 
presented in writing. 

(e) The report of a committee may be re- 
ceived by a vote, which simply acknowledges 
the service of the committee, and places its re- 
port before the meeting for action. Afterward 
the report may be adopted as a whole or in it3 
separate items. 

(/) When the recommendations of the com- 
mittee are of minor consequence, or are likely 
to be generally acceptable, the report may be 
received and adopted by a single motion. 

(g) A report may be re-committed to the 
committee for a farther investigation, or a 
more acceptable presentation of the subject. 



VARIOUS BAPTIST ORGANIZATIONS 

American Baptist Missionary Union. 1814. 
2A Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. 

American Baptist Publication Society. 1824. 
1420 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 

American Baptist Home Mission Society. 
1832. Ill Fifth Avenue, New York City. 

The Southern Baptist Convention. 1845. 
Foreign Board, Richmond, Va. ; Home Board, 
Atlanta, Ga. ; S. S. Board, Nashville, Tenn. 

The • American Baptist Education Society. 
1888. Ill Fifth Avenue, New York City. 

The Baptist Young People's Union of Amer- 
ica. 1891. 122 Wabash Avenue, Chicago, 111. 

Woman's Baptist Foreign Missionary So- 
ciety. 1871. 2 A Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. 

The Woman's Baptist Foreign Missionary 
Society of the West. 1871. 122 Wabash 
Avenue, Chicago, 111. 

The Women's Baptist Home Mission Society. 
1877. 2411 Indiana Avenue, Chicago, 111. 

Women's American Baptist Home Mission 
Society. 1877. 2A Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. 

65 



66 A BAPTIST CHURCH MANUAL 

Woman's Missionary Union (Auxiliary to 
the Southern Baptist Convention). 9 West 
Lexington St., Baltimore, Md. 

The German Baptist Conferences: The 
General Conference ; The Eastern Conference ; 
The Central Conference; The Northwestern 
Conference ; The Texas Conference. 

The Swedish General Conference. 

The Baptist Foreign Missionary Convention 
of the United States (Colored). 1880. Rich- 
mond, Va. 

The National Baptist Convention (Colored), 

American Baptist Historical Society. 1853. 
1420 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 

The Baptist Congress. 1882. 407 West 43 
Street, New York City. 



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